LAFFCON4 - Poster

 

"I'm turning livid in this bog,
This woolly world that spooks and spites you."
       -R.A. Lafferty, The Reefs of Earth

Come join us for the 4th annual science fiction conference devoted to the life and work of author R.A. Lafferty. This year we will have a panel on Lafferty’s novel The Reefs of Earth, The Gene Wolfe Literary Podcast returns with an in depth analysis of the short story 'Nine Hundred Grandmothers,' and there will be lectures on Lafferty's work and his legacy. In addition, we will offer an art show and free refreshments.

LAFFCON is a free event that takes place June 8, 2019 in Lawrenceville, NJ.

Registration opens Wednesday, May 1st, 2019.

Deadline for the LAFFCON Bagarthach Verse contest is April 25, 2019. Click here for details.

Playtime: LAFFCON Audio from Years Past

Over the years we've had a long and bounteous history of failed attempts to either stream or record LAFFCON. Last year was our most successful thanks entirely to Glen McDorman and Brandon Budda, hosts of The Gene Wolfe Literary Podcast.

Here are links to those recordings, for so as long as the internet will house them:

"Snuffles" Discussion - Glenn McDorman, Brandon Budda, and Gregorio Montejo
https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/forcedn/genewolfe/Snuffles_by_R.A._Lafferty_-_Live_from_LaffCon3.mp3

"Made Up Entirely of Glowing Geniuses": RA Lafferty's Radical Theories on Human Intelligence by Andrew Ferguson
https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/forcedn/genewolfe/Andrew_Ferguson_at_LaffCon3.mp3

Lafferty’s Zarathustra: Not to Mention Camels by Gregorio Montejo
https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/forcedn/genewolfe/Gregorio_Montejo_at_LaffCon3.mp3

Religion, Politics, & More: Past Master panel discussion w/Robert Bee, Samuel Tomaino, Nancy Lebovitz, and Darrell Schweitzer
https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/forcedn/genewolfe/Past_Master_Panel_at_LaffCon3.mp3

Also, there is one great recording from LAFFCON1 (2016), a "Lafferty Studies" panel featuring Andrew Ferguson, Gregorio Montejo, Daniel Otto Jack Petersen, and Michael Swanwick.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/695mq3q238xhelx/ZOOM0001.MP3?dl=0

Return of The Gene Wolfe Literary Podcast

LAFFCON4 takes place Saturday, June 8, 2019. This year we’re jumping out of our chairs giddy at the return of Brandon Budda and Glenn McDorman, hosts of The Gene Wolfe Literary Podcast. They'll be recording a live episode, unpacking one of Lafferty's greatest stories.

 

The Gene Wolfe LiteraryPodcast travels through the works of the great speculative-fiction writer Gene Wolfe one story at a time. Lucky for us they occasionally alter course into other literary universes. Last year they dropped anchor outside LAFFCON with scholar Gregorio Montejo and gave a thorough discussion of the R. A. Lafferty short story ‘Snuffles.’ Brandon and Glenn are solid pros, perfectly comfortable before the mic, insightful and interesting (a quadruple threat to boredom.)  Those who were present had the story unpacked bit by bit. Like most Lafferty stories all those bits pile up into quite a bite. -Personally, I can no longer look at a stuffed bear without imagining the big bouncing demiurge. 

This year Brandon and Glenn bring with them a new Lafferty toy box to unlock and unload. For those who weren’t present last year, you can still listen to the Snuffles podcast at: https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/forcedn/genewolfe/Snuffles_by_R.A._Lafferty_-_Live_from_LaffCon3.mp3 

 

LAFFCON is a free annual conference dedicated solely to the works of author R. A. Lafferty. This year’s conference once again takes place in Lawrenceville, NJ. 

 

Also, here is a reminder that the deadline for entry into the first LAFFCON Bagarthach Verse Competition is April 25, 2019. Winners get their curse...er,"verse" printed in the conference program booklet. So give us your most mean-spirited curse of a verse in a style that would make a Puca chortle. For more information about the contest rules click here.